Amphibious Assault
by SorchaCahill
Summary: Cloud knew Gaia to be a strange place, but he never expected something like this to happen.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This was just a bit of fun that came to me one night when I couldn't sleep. I'll be adding more soon. As usual, I make no claim on the characters, but the story is mine.

Amphibious Assault

_Cloud knew Gaia to be a strange place, but he never expected something like this to happen._

Cloud felt stifled. Edge seemed more crowded than usual. Too many people, there were just too many people. He needed some time away from them, from everyone, even his friends.

"Tifa, I'm going out."

"What? Wait Cloud. Where -?"

Cloud left 7th Heaven before she could pin him down with questions. He liked Tifa, maybe even felt something more, but the desire to be alone right now outweighed his feelings for her. It didn't help that Marlene and Denzel were being more rambunctious than normal.

Revving Fenrir up, he spit up gravel as he sped out of the city. Once the open air hit his skin, some of the anxiousness started to seep out of his body. He hadn't felt this wound up in a while and didn't like it. Ever since that battle with Kadaj and then a reprise with Sephiroth, peace had settled over him. Sure he felt a bit restless from time to time, but this was different.

Fenrir ate up the road in front of him, bringing him further into the wilds. Plains bled into forest, forcing him to slow down, but the trees around him offered a different kind of solace than speeding through the open road. He could sense beasts lurking among the trees, and he slowed Fenrir even more, spoiling for a fight. Dismounting, he pulled one of the Fusion Swords, First Sword, from its bracket on Fenrir.

He let loose a shrill whistle, taunting the creatures that lay in wait. He was spoiling for a fight and they did not disappoint.

Several Fangs burst from the foliage, surrounding him. Cloud sighed. They weren't exactly what he was hoping for, but it was a good start.

The beasts were dispatched all too quickly, much to Cloud's disappointment, but he knew there were bigger, more dangerous things that lurked in the forest. He was one of them.

More creatures and beasts emerged to attack him, but none could stand up to First Sword and Cloud was beginning to get bored. He had come out into the wilds to expend his pent up emotions, not toy with trifles.

The moon was just beginning to rise when a loud belching noise echoed throughout the forest. It sounded like some rude noise that Cid or Barret might make, but knowing that the two were off surveying the new mine Barret owned, Cloud knew the noise to be of a different origin.

Cloud squinted into the darkness as the creature belched again. A malodorous odor clung to the air around him. A spindle of nausea wove through him. Shaking his head, Cloud tried to focus. He needed a battle, a good one. He wanted to clear his head of the noise that had filled it.

The bushes rattled and rustled around him. Five poisoned Toads hopped out.

_Toads? Seriously? You have_ got_ to be kidding me!_

It was a bit of a let down. He had been expecting something monstrous, not these pesky creatures. Sneering at the scrawny amphibians before him, Cloud sheathed First Sword and started to turn away.

_Whap!_

Cloud spun around, his hand reaching up to the back of his head. It came away covered with some type of sticky, viscous goo that smelled like the depths of the sewers from Midgar's now abandoned slums.

He regarded the five Toads. They sat no more than five yards away, blinking at him with their wide eyes. Shaking his head, he turned away again only to be assaulted again, more goo sliming all over him. Now he was pissed.

"Alright, you little shits. You want a fight, I'll give you a fight."

He unsheathed First Sword again, but this time his movements seemed sluggish, his reactions slowed. His skin began to tingle uncomfortably as his vision began to blur. Cloud's legs buckled underneath him as he was brought down to one knee, leaning on First Sword for support. He blearily looked at the Toads squatting before him, unsure of what he was seeing. What new devilry was this?

The Toads hopped closer, each staring at him with a gimlet eye. One Toad hopped on another and they seemed to merge. Another Toad hopped on another, and they merged. Three Toads now sat before him, two larger ones and the smaller one. Cloud watched, paralyzed, as the two larger ones merged with each other and the fifth Toad sprang up to sit on top of the massive Toad.

Though his ears were plugged up with the goo, Cloud could swear that he could hear a voice speaking to him.

"_Next time you come picking a fight, Human, use more than your eyes to see. We think that perhaps a lesson is needed here."_

Cloud wanted to respond, but his mouth felt... funny, like it could no longer form words. Something was happening to his limbs, a kind of itchiness. He tried to shake his head, but it only caused a buzzing sound in his head that grew louder with every shake.

"_Let's see, Human, if you can get others to see with more than their eyes."_

Blearily, Cloud looked up at the towering Toad and its shoulder-riding companion. The last thing he saw was the small Toad leaping forward and landing a hard smack on his forehead. Everything went dark after that.

* * *

><p>Sunlight was filtering through the leaves when Cloud awoke. <em>Shit<em>, he thought, _have I been out all night? Tifa's gonna kill me._

Cloud tried to get up, but his limbs refused to cooperate. He managed to fold his legs under him so that he was sitting in a squatting position, which was, strangely, not all that uncomfortable. His mouth felt like he had swallowed an out-of-date potion or had stayed up all night drinking with Cid and Barret.

He brought up a hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes, but stopped when he saw his, hand?

"_Ah, shit."_ At least, that's what he meant to say; all that came out was the croaking sound of a Toad.

"_This _cannot _be happening_," he thought. _"What the hell was that thing and what did it do to me?"_

No answers presented itself to Cloud, but one thing was clear: he had to get back to Edge. Staying here in the wilds was the height of stupidity. In his current, _condition_, he wouldn't last long. No, he needed to get back to Edge, to Tifa. One hop at a time.


	2. Chapter 2

It took nearly a week to get back to Edge. The journey was made more difficult by the mere fact that hopping was not a mode of travel that Cloud was used to. He was reluctant to leave Fenrir and his weapons behind, but what could he do? It wasn't as if he could rev up Fenrir or wield a sword with webbed feet and hands.

Edge looked different when he entered the city limits. Everything moved faster. It was everything Cloud could do to not get trampled on by both vehicle and human alike.

By Gaia, but he was tired. It was as if his Mako-enriched body had deserted him when he had been transformed. He still had no idea what the hell had happened to him, but at the moment he didn't care. He just wanted to get somewhere safe, to get back to Seventh Heaven...and Tifa.

Cloud had to hop wildly through the traffic, praying to all the gods that he wouldn't get squished into the pavement by one the many trucks and vehicles that sped through Edge's streets. He didn't know how much time had passed, but he soon found himself in front of the Meteor Memorial. It had been rebuilt after the Geostigma event and the temporary resurrection of Sephiroth.

Still water surrounded the giant statue, and before he realized what he was doing, Cloud found himself immersed in the cool liquid. After travelling for so long and so far, the water felt like a blessed event. Not only did it cool him down physically, but it allowed him to focus on his surroundings.

Seventh Heaven wasn't too far away, just a couple of blocks away. Even as this knowledge brought him relief, an edge of uneasiness wormed its way in. Once he got there, what in Odin's name was he supposed to do? He had no idea if this curse was permanent or not, or how it could be lifted. What he did know, knew with a certainty, was that he needed to get back to Tifa. She was going to be pissed off enough as it was.

"Ooo, look Denzel! A frog!"

"It's not a frog, Marlene, it has to be a toad."

"No it's not, silly. Toad have warts, this one isn't warty or anything."

"Warty isn't a word. And it's a toad. See, it's all yellow and stuff."

"Is too! And there can be yellow frogs. You're just jealous you didn't see him first."

"Whatever."

Cloud looked up from his position in the pond to see the faces of two young children peering down at him. Marlene and Denzel were a happy sight indeed.

"I wanna take him home."

"Tifa's never gonna let you keep him."

"Sure she will. He's so cute, she'll _have_ to let me keep him."

Cloud heard Denzel mutter something that sounded suspiciously like 'girls,' but he didn't care. Being 'adopted' by Marlene was the best thing to happen to him in two weeks. It practically guaranteed him safe passage to Seventh Heaven. No more worrying about getting squished by rampaging trucks!

Taking matters into his own hands, err, yeah, hands, Cloud leapt from the pond to Marlene. The startled girl nearly dropped him in her surprised, but then she began to giggle.

"_See_, Denzel. He wants to come home with me." The girl stuck her tongue out at him as she skipped down the street away from him.

"Whatever," Denzel shrugged as he followed. "It's just a stupid frog."

* * *

><p>In Marlene's arms, Cloud passed through the doors of Seventh Heaven with a mix of relief and anxiety. He had been so focused on getting here that he was at a loss at what to do now. He wasn't exactly in a position to explain himself, much less ask for help. And then, there she was.<p>

"TIFA! Look! Can I keep him!"

Marlene's high-pitched squeal made Cloud want to cover his ears, but as soon as he saw Tifa, the young girl's squeals faded into the background. She emerged from the shadows of the kitchen, the sunlight that filtered through the windows casting her skin in a golden glow. A smile lit upon her face, but it did not reach her eyes. She looked tired...and sad, but was making an effort to not let it show. It was a look he had seen a thousand times before, but it was only now that he really saw it.

"What have you got there, Mar-. What _is _that, and what is it doing in my bar?"

"I told you so, Marlene. She won't let you keep it."

"It's my frog! I found him. Can I keep him? Please, Tifa? Please?" the young girl begged, her brown eyes wide and without guile. Looking down at the child's face, Tifa couldn't refuse her. There had been too much seriousness, too much sadness in the young girl's life, and Tifa didn't have the heart to refuse her a bit of fun.

"You may keep him," Tifa had to pause amidst Marlene's happy squeals, unable to keep a smile from her face; the girl's enthusiasm was infectious. "But, _but_, it is your responsibility to take care of him. You will have to feed it and, and do whatever it is that frogs require, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"It's a toad," grumbled Denzel as he kicked his way back to the kitchen, studiously ignoring the blissful look on Marlene's face.


	3. Chapter 3

Tifa watched the children as they left the bar area. Amusement slid from her face as her emotions swirled to the surface. It had been over two weeks since she had seen, much less heard from Cloud. She was used to his leaving, but she had thought that it was better, that _they_ were better. To completely disappear like this? She hadn't thought him capable of it.

But he was nowhere to be found. He didn't answer his cell, and, if the full voicemail was any indication, he wasn't checking his messages either. She had thought that he had been able to forgive himself for Aerith's death, or at the very least come to terms with it, but maybe he hadn't. After what happened with Kadaj and the resultant battle and healing, she thought, perhaps, that he was ready to move on, but maybe she was wrong.

Tifa sighed, disappointed in her maudlin thoughts. It wasn't like her to sink into depression; of course, it wasn't like Cloud to seemingly disappear off the face of Gaia.

The bell rang as customers began to filter in, eager for an after-work beverage. Another sigh escaped past Tifa's lips. The last thing she wanted to do right now was to put on a brave face and mingle, but that's exactly what she would do. Perhaps it would serve to distract her...for a while anyway.

* * *

><p>Cloud was at a loss at what to do. If he were truly a frog, toad, whatever, he supposed that life would be great. He had to give Marlene credit as she made sure that he was supplied with everything a frog could ask for—including flies and crickets. But he wasn't a frog and the thought of a diet consisting of flies for the rest of his life was not palatable in the least.<p>

As nice as the aquarium was with it rocks and water (what the hell was he thinking!), Cloud knew he needed to get out, to find a solution to whatever that creature had done to him. Another week had passed by, or at least, he thought it was a week. Time seemed to have lost some of its meaning.

His one bit of luck, if he could call it luck, was that he was able to leap and hop out of his new glass home. Marlene rarely left the wire-mesh topper on the aquarium, so he was able to escape from time to time.

During his nighttime wanderings, and sometimes even during the day when Marlene was at school, he watched Tifa. The girl he'd known as a child was there, but, at the same time, she wasn't there. Sure time had passed, she'd grown up, but there was something else that he couldn't name.

It was maybe six or seven days since Marlene had brought him home when he hopped down the stairs, not-so-hushed voices beckoning him forth. He immediately recognized Tifa's but it took him a moment to place the other. Peering over the edge of the stair, he spied spiky red hair and groaned. What did the annoying Turk want and why was he here?

As quietly as he could Cloud hopped closer, trying to avoid notice. This whole hopping thing had become easier, but he didn't necessarily think that it was a good thing. He didn't _want_ it to be easier. He _wanted_ to get back to normal.

Still not able to hear clearly (damn frog ears), Cloud took a risk and leapt up to the bar counter. Another leap and he was in the sink behind the bar, close enough to hear, but out of sight enough to where he wouldn't be easily found out.

"So, what you're telling me is that you've found nothing. _Nothing._"

Cloud recognized that growl in Tifa's voice. He'd been on the receiving end of it too often not to recognize it.

"Are you even trying to find him?"

"Now, Teef, of course we are. We've tried tracking his cell, but it must be off or something cause we can't get the signal."

"_Her name's Tifa, jackass,"_ Cloud thought. He'd always hated that nickname Reno always insisted on using; the implied familiarity it meant just rubbed him the wrong way.

"I don't believe that. I've called his cell, left messages, so I know he didn't turn it off."

"Maybe the battery ran out. It happens. He's been gone long enough. He might not be-. Hey!"

A loud smack reverberated throughout the room, and Cloud felt the bar shake from Reno's body hitting it. Having fought alongside Tifa, he knew just how brutal her right hook was, but that didn't mean he felt sorry for Reno. The guy usually deserved whatever he got.

"You don't want to finish that sentence, Reno. Trust me."

"Okay. Okay. I got you. Listen, Rude's working on trying to track his bike from the last signal we had from his cell. I can't promise anything, Teef, but-."

"You'll try, I know. Just try harder. I'm running out of excuses as to what to tell the kids."

"Hey, Teef." Cloud peeked over the edge of the sink just in time to see Reno place a hand on Tifa's shoulder in what he probably meant as a comforting gesture, but Cloud didn't see it that way.

It was a combination of stupidity and what others would probably name jealously that led to what happened next. Gathering energy, Cloud bunched his frog legs up and sprang out of the sink, aiming for the redheaded idiot. The girly scream that emanated from the man gave Cloud no small amount of satisfaction.

"The hell? What is it? Get it off!" Reno danced frantically around the bar.

Amusement ringing through her voice, Tifa moved forward and gently plucked the frog that was Cloud off of Reno's head. "Here, you big baby. I'll take care of the scary-wary frog for you."

"The hell's a frog doing in here? People _eat_ in here."

"Don't be such a wimp, Reno. It's Marlene's pet, and he makes her happy."

"The only reason a frog should be here is if its legs are dipped in butter and garlic."

"Don't let Marlene hear you say that. She'll kick your ass harder than I will."

"Yeah, well, whatever. I gotta go. Rude's waiting."

"You'll let me know, right, if you find anything?" From his position in Tifa's hands, Cloud could see her worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. It burned a hole in his gut knowing that he was the cause of her worry, but, again, he was at a loss at how to rectify the situation.

"Course, Tifa." Reno shot her a lopsided grin as he left the bar.

Cloud watched Tifa as her eyes followed Reno out of the bar. It was a little awkward from his current position, but needed to see her face, even if it was through a frog's eyes. His wish was granted when Tifa brought her hands up to eye level so that they were eye-to-eye, so to speak.

"Well, well, Mr. Frog, we can't have you hopping through my bar. I'll have to have a talk with Marlene about making sure that your aquarium is kept secure. Otherwise, Reno just might put you on the menu," she chided as she took him up the stairs and into Marlene's room. Cloud wanted to growl in frustration, but all that came out was a kind of frog burp.


	4. Chapter 4

"_Dammit," _Cloud thought. _"This needs to end. I've got to get this fixed."_

He thought back to that day, nearly three weeks ago now, and tried to puzzle it out in his mind. Obviously the creature (creatures?) that had attacked him were no ordinary Toads, so just what the hell were they?

"_Next time you come picking a fight, Human, use more than your eyes to see. We think that perhaps a lesson is needed here."_

_...use more than your eyes to see..._ Just what the hell did they/it mean by that? He had been in more battles than he could count. He had eyes, he saw. He was infused with Mako, all of his senses were enhanced in a way that few other people were.

_You see, but you do not _see.

The voice echoed in his head, startling him in his tank. Water sloshed around him as his gaze darted around, looking for the source. With the exception of the small mass that Marlene burrowed underneath blankets, the room was empty.

_Look with your heart, Cloud Strife, not with your head._

"Yeah, 'cause that's worked well for me," Cloud thought, wishing that he could scowl. The glass walls of his prison were closing in on him, and he needed to get out, but the wire mesh above him had been secured after his last sojourn. Of course, he wasn't going to let that stop him from getting out.

He had extra motivation to escape. He had no intention of becoming a 'school project.'

Climbing up the small rock pile that Marlene had provided him with, Cloud leveraged his body up toward the wire mesh, the suction-cup tips of his, um, hands, steadying himself against the glass as he pressed against the cover.

He couldn't budge it. Dammit.

Cloud sat back, bunching his legs up, and sprang up at the cover. It jiggled a bit, but otherwise didn't move. Taking a quick glance over to the Marlene shaped lump, he launched himself at the mesh again, and again, and again.

It was a good thing that Marlene slept like the dead.

He lost count of how many times he had attacked the mesh, but he thought that it had moved slightly. Stretching up the side of the tank, Cloud pushed at the mesh with a webbed hand (foot?). The lid separated maybe a quarter of an inch, and Cloud slid his hand through the gap. Pressing his other hand against the lid, and using his "froggy" strength, he pried the mesh lid away from the tank. Now that he had loosened the clamps, the lid was ridiculously easy to remove.

Cloud tried to move the lid off quietly, but no such luck. It clattered onto the desk, the sound echoing throughout the room. Across the room Marlene murmured in her sleep, but otherwise didn't stir from her slumber.

Not one to pass up an opportunity, Cloud leapt up from his froggy prison and made for the door. He didn't have a plan exactly, but he knew that he had to do _something_.

His deep thoughts were interrupted by a soft sob coming from down the hallway. Careful to stay in the shadows, Cloud hopped down the hallway to what he knew to be Tifa's room. A soft murmur hummed over the intermittent sobs, the noise drawing Cloud toward it.

Peeking around the doorframe, he could see Tifa sitting on the bed, cradling something in her lap. Standing over her, just to the side, a man in a red cape stood silent as a shadow. The cape sifted gently in a wind that wasn't there. Vincent Valentine has always been a tall man, but from Cloud's new perspective, the man was as much of a giant as Titan himself.

"I am sorry, Tifa. This was all that I could find. This, and Fenrir."

"He would have never abandoned either of them, you know."

"Yes, I know," he paused, "and he would not have given them up easily."

Tifa's dark head bowed down onto her chest. Cloud saw her shoulders slump, as if defeated. A thick lump grew in Cloud's throat at the sight. And suddenly it was as if the veil had been lifted. He could see the pain he caused Tifa when he went off like he did.

"I will keep looking, Tifa. We all will."

"I -. Thank you, Vincent." Tifa's head stayed bowed, her face shadowed by her unbound hair.

Vincent nodded, and bowing slightly at the waist, he turned to leave the room. He paused at the sight of Cloud sitting in the doorway as his frog-self. Cloud blinked his Mako-blue eyes up at the gunslinger's crimson ones. A shadow flickered across Vincent's face, was it a flicker of recognition?

Hope, briefly risen, curdled in Cloud's stomach as the gunslinger swept past him, his signature red cape curling around him like mist. For a moment, a brief moment, Cloud thought that Vincent might have, just maybe, seen something beyond the frog that sat before him. But no, no. To anyone who saw him, he was just a frog... or toad depending on who you asked.

And now he was getting all broody again, which would not help him out of his current situation.

The sound of exploding glass startled him out of his brooding. Cloud hopped closer and saw what Tifa had cradled in her arms. It was now lying amongst a pile of broken glass and pottery: his sword.

Tifa sat slumped on the floor, legs tucked to either side, with her head buried in her hands. Cloud could tell by the way her shoulders were shaking that she was trying not to cry, but was failing.

Odin's left ball sack, was she really crying? Cloud hopped forward, and saw with dismay that she was, indeed, crying.

"_Ah, crap_," Cloud thought. Solving the mystery of his current state of frogginess was child's play next to figuring out women, especially when they were crying.

Cloud moved so that he sat between her bent knees and stared up at the woman he loved. The woman he loved. The realization smacked him hard in the head, nearly as hard as the smack he received from that creature.

"_By Gaia, I'm an idiot."_

He hesitated only a second, somewhat unsure of his actions, but he leveraged himself up so that his hands rested on her knee. Peering up at her face, his Mako-blue eyes sought her chocolate ones. Startled by the touch, Tifa lowered her hands, revealing tear-soaked eyes.

"Well, hello, little frog. Come to rescue the damsel in distress. You're a bit late I'm afraid."

Swallowing his pride, Cloud climbed up so that he fully sat on her leg. He continued looking up at her, silently hoping, begging, that she recognize him.

Tifa scooped one of her hands underneath him, and lifted him so that they were at eyelevel. "You're a clever thing aren't you? You've escaped you're tank, again. Bad frog."

She waggled one finger at him and then used that finger to stroke the skin between his eyes. Cloud shivered under the contact.

"You are quite the handsome thing though, aren't you? Such blue eyes. Unusual, for a frog."

Tifa's breath hitched, and Cloud was afraid that she would start crying again. He stood up on his hind legs and placed his hands on her cheeks, maintaining eye contact. She jumped a bit at his action, but then held very still.

"_Please,"_ he begged silently, _"please _see _me."_

"Such blue eyes..." she whispered, her voice trailing off.

"_Please."_

"It can't be. No. You, you can't be. No. _Cloud?_"

"_Sweet Gaia, yes."_

A heaviness set into Cloud's stomach and he felt as if he was being yanked inside out through his belly button. The world began to spin, but he locked gazes with Tifa, refusing to let go. Even as white spots blurred his vision, he maintained that connection; a part of him _needed_ to maintain it.

It was just a blink, one nanosecond of blackness, and suddenly it felt as if a Behemoth had sat on his head. Another blink, and he realized that he was sprawled out on the floor. As his vision began to clear, his hand came into view and for the first time in nearly a month, there wasn't any webbing between his fingers.

Strange. He almost didn't recognize it. Cloud pushed himself up to a sitting position, staring down at his now non-frog hands.

"Cloud?"

Cloud looked up, a befuddled and tear-stained Tifa sitting across from him, slumped against the bed.

"Tifa."

Tifa's right cross cut him on the jaw, snapping his head back and to the side.

"Ow. Tifa, what the hell?"

"That's for leaving without a word. Again."

"What? Wait, Tifa -."

Cloud next found himself knocked backwards, lying flat on his back. Tifa hovered above him, a dark angel whose face was a mix of anger and something else that Cloud couldn't quite name.

"That's for disappearing on me. Again."

"Tifa, just let me explain. You see, there was this, thing-."

"You need to shut up now." Tifa grabbed his face with both hands, bringing her lips down on his. Cloud drank it in and the scent that was completely Tifa. He started to pull her in closer, needing her closer, when she pushed him back, away from her.

"What was that for?" Cloud asked, a wry smile on his face, which faded as he saw tears form in her eyes. "Hey, hey. It's okay."

"I thought that you had gone. That you had left, forever this time." Tifa's voice became very soft, almost childlike.

Cloud just wanted to sit up and envelope her in his arms, but he recognized that he was on very shaky ground with her. Having just realized what he had all along, and what he could have lost through negligence, he didn't want to chance loosing her now.

"Tifa. Saying I'm sorry doesn't seem like enough, but I am sorry, so sorry." Cloud now sat up, capturing her hands in his.

"You should be. Do you have any idea of what I've gone through in the last month?"

"I do. I was here. In frog form, but I was here. I saw, and now I know what an idiot I've been."

Tifa smiled through a hiccup. "I could have told you that, but I'm guessing that this was something you needed to discover for yourself."

"I guess I did. With a bit of a backslap up the head from Gaia, I did."

"Yeah, you'll have to explain yourself there."

"I don't know that I can really. I went out to go kill some monsters, and came back as a frog."

"Denzel maintains that you were a toad. Marlene, naturally, disagrees. She very much enjoyed having a pet frog."

"Yeah, about that. We'll have to get her a new one, because I have no intention of being used as a school project."

"Aww, but you were such a cute little frog."

"Tifa..."

"But I like you much better this way."

"Trust me, so do I. And I intend on staying this way, staying here, with you."

_A/N: Sorry this took so long. Real life kind of got messy for a while, and I had trouble getting the ending I wanted for this. I'm still not 100% happy with it, but it'll do for now. Thanks to all who have read and reviewed. :)_


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